Overview of the role of zooplankton in aquaculture
Abstract
Zooplankton are a group of animals that live in the aquatic environment in a floating state, diverse and useful. Zooplankton are not only an important link in most food chains and webs but also contribute to maintaining water clarity, providing dissolved nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) nutrients, and supporting stable phytoplankton growth in aquatic environments. Zooplankton are the first live food source for most crustacean, mollusk, and fish larvae because they are prey of various sizes suitable for mouth size, are easy to catch due to slow movement, are easy to digest and absorb because of their thin body shells, and meet the nutritional needs of young animals due to their high nutritional content. In aquaculture, the use of zooplankton as the first feed for larvae has contributed to the successful seed production of many economically valuable fish, crustaceans, and mollusks. Many groups of zooplankton (rotifers, branchiopods, copepods, artemia) are studied for biomass culture or for collecting resting eggs to feed aquatic animal larvae. Zooplankton are also being studied for use as a biological control method to manage the development of phytoplankton, regulate water clarity, and provide natural food for aquaculture species, aiming for environmentally friendly and sustainable aquaculture.
Keywords: Zooplankton, aquaculture, live food, role